No Bail Out for Old Detroit

I want to make one thing clear:  if the Government of the United States of America decides to provide a bailout to "Old Detroit", I will NEVER purchase another product made by Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler ever again in my life.  And given my relatively young age of 37, that probably means at least another 4-5 vehicles of the course of my lifetime.  I wouldn't take a product from any of those three if you gave it to me for free if you pass this bailout.  Because this liberal fascist bailout fantasy -- and this is fascism in its purest, most academic form -- will do absolutely nothing to fix the endemic structural defects of those three companies.  And what is worse, every politician from the UP to Anacostia Flats knows it.

I call the "Big Three" "Old Detroit" now because they are neither the "Big Three" anymore, nor are they our true domestic auto industry anymore.  Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, Saturn, and Volvo all produce cars in the United States -- and outsell "Old Detroit".  They are our real domestic automotive industry.

"Old Detroit" suffers from a problem of producing products that American's don't want, and prices they won't pay, in quanitities that are obscenely wasteful, and at a level of quality that is insufferable.  They do this because of overbearing and overwhelming labor rules they agreed to as they surrendered their companies to union control. Ford pays more people to not work on an average day than they pay people to build cars.  Every GM car price includes $2,000 in retiree health benefit costs.  Chrysler's quality -- especially in its electrical systems -- absolutely tanked after their purchase by DaimlerBenz.  Ask anyone who bought a Jeep Liberty.

The problems of "Old Detroit" are management problems.  Poor leadership, poor management, and absolutely atrocious business skills have led "Old Detroit" to the point where they are.  "Old Detroit" shouldn't be bailed out with some short-term cash infusion that does not fix the underlying weaknesses of their business model.  Quite frankly, those companies probably have more value in the scrap metal of plants that should be shut down and dismantled than they have in producing more cars.

And yes, the unions are to blame, too.  In an industry where unions are so powerful, why aren't the unions paying for retiree health benefits?  Or pension plans?  Or job retraining? Are union dues only to be used for Cadillacs and Armani suits for union bosses?  Political donations for favorite politicians and causes?  As a party to these labor contracts, unions assume a counterparty risk in the operations of automobile companies... and thus their fortunes should match those of the companies they choose to links themselves with.

Real change cannot occur in this industry until real pain is felt by those responsible. Union and management and worker alike must understand that you cannot draw blood from a stone, and ultimately, your ability to satisfy your customer should be the sole factor in whether you live or die as an organization.

Frankly, I would rather see the Federal Government invest $50 billion in retraining these autoworkers to do something else than save hulking and dying dinosaurs.  Because if we teach those autoworkers to fish, they will produce for years.  But if we give the automakers fish, they will eat their fill in a die.

No bailout for Old Detroit.  Let the chips fall where they may.